Mental Health and Lupus Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana Chapter December 9 2017 Judy Schaff, MS
Agenda Research Updates on: Pain Depression Vitamin D Mental Health Issues with Lupus Lupus Fog Depression Buyer Beware
Research Updates on Lupus and Mental Health
Self-Efficacy and Pain Catastrophizing Somers TJ, et al. Self-Efficacy and Pain Catastrophizing in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Relationship to Pain, Stiffness, Fatigue, and Psychological Distress. Arthritis Care & Research 2012;(64)9;1334-1340. Analyses revealed that self-efficacy for pain control and pain catastrophizing were associated with the patients physical symptom reports and psychological distress Pain coping variables can be modified using psychological interventions, and that such treatmentrelated changes in pain cognitions are related to improved patient outcomes
Predictors of Incident Depression Huang X, et al. Predictors of incident depression in systemic lupus erythematosus. J Rheumatol. 2014;41(9):1823-33. Studied 1609 SLE patients who had no previous history of depression These variables remained as independent predictors of incident depression: recent SLE diagnosis, non-asian ethnicity, disability, cutaneous activity, longitudinal myelitis, and current prednisone use of 20 mg/day or higher.
Pain and Depression Predict Fatigue/Energy in Lupus Moldivan I, et al. Pain and depression predict self-reported fatigue/energy in lupus. Lupus 2013 ;22(7):684-9. Pain and depression predict self-reported fatigue/energy in lupus. Both pain and depression were found to be strong predictors of fatigue
Vitamin D and Lupus Gendelman O, et al. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study adding high dose vitamin D to analgesic regimens in patients with musculoskeletal pain. Lupus. 2015;24(4-5):483-9. The group receiving vitamin D achieved a statistically significant larger decline of their VAS measurement throughout the study compared with the placebo group. The need for analgesic 'rescue therapy' was significantly lower among the vitamin D-treated group.
Mental Health Issues with Lupus
Lupus Fog Lupus fog is a general name for the cognitive impairments that often appear with lupus, including concentration and memory problems, confusion, and difficulty expressing yourself These cognitive problems are often worse during flares Lupus fog doesn t usually get progressively worse
Lupus Fog and How to Help Yourself Putting off more complex tasks when you are feeling better Simplifying your routines Avoid over-stimulation, like being around too much noise or too many people, watching TV before you fall asleep Play word games or puzzles to strengthen your cognition and fog Get enough SLEEP
Lupus Fog and How to Help Yourself(con d) Pacing yourself and ask for help Avoid multi-tasking and slow down Be kind to yourself!!
Symptoms of Depression DSM-IV Criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) Depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities for more than two weeks. Mood represents a change from the person's baseline. Impaired function: social, occupational, educational. Specific symptoms, at least 5 of these 9, present nearly every day:
Depression Symptoms Depressed mood or irritable most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g., feels sad or empty) or observation made by others (e.g., appears tearful). Decreased interest or pleasure in most activities, most of each day Significant weight change (5%) or change in appetite Change in sleep: Insomnia or hypersomnia
Depression Symptoms (con d) Change in activity: Psychomotor agitation or retardation Fatigue or loss of energy Guilt/worthlessness: Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt Concentration: diminished ability to think or concentrate, or more indecisiveness Suicidality: Thoughts of death or suicide, or has suicide plan
Dealing with Depression Concentrate on taking care of yourself physically and emotionally Recognize, respect and accept your limitations from your Lupus Stop focusing on what you can t do, but rather what you can do Talk to your Dr about your depression and take the medication if your Dr thinks you need to take it
Some Facts About Depression Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression than men. Continuous exposure to violence, neglect, abuse, or poverty may make people who are already susceptible to depression all the more vulnerable to the illness Depression can be genetic and runs in many families Depression and Generalized Anxiety usually run together
Some Facts About Depression (con d) On average, people with depression will have 4-5 episodes of depression in their life time The key is to continue to take the medication Many other disease states have comorbid depression; we are not alone Heart attacks, RA, asthma, cancer, eating disorders, post partum
Changing the Way You Think When we are depressed we are engaged in a great deal of negative self-talk Our reality becomes distorted and twisted; it s called cognitive distortion False beliefs-i m no good, no one loves me, I m worthless, I ll never get better, etc Making mountains out of mole hills Confide in a close friend or relative and have them validate what is real and what is not real and what is true and not truel
Changing the Way You Think (con d) Improve your self-talk by confronting your self and saying, that s not true, that s my depression talking The longer you let this negative self-talk go on, it may turn into a reality because people don t want to be around you Check your thoughts on a regular basis and correct your thought process
And Then There s ANGER
Types of Anger Rage The most intense anger you can experience It results in a visual explosion of some kind It can be a destructive release of intense physical energy that has been pent up for a long period of time Resentment A growing, smoldering feeling of anger directed at a person or thing that is often bottled up for a long time
Types of Anger (con d) Indignation More appropriate, positive type of release of anger; usually it is situational The release is controlled The key is to learn to work through your anger and how to release it appropriately!
Good or Bad Anger? Anger can be an indication that something is wrong and that it s affecting us negatively (our body is talking to us) Deal with your anger by talking, not biting! Discuss it with someone else to help you Rehearse your discussion ahead of time If it s a long, buried anger, you may need a therapist to help you work through it It may be the sign that your depression is getting better
Good or Bad Anger? You may have been told that anger isn t OK to do, or not lady like Anger can be destructive if you don t deal with it and the root cause Anger can cause high blood pressure, headaches, grinding your teeth etc It can make your lupus worse! It could be the root of your depression
ANGER FEAR HURT SAD SHAME
Buyer Beware
BUYER BEWARE/My Pet Peev Miracle cures for lupus of any kind Lupus diets that cure lupus Devices that cure lupus Expensive lupus vitamins
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